


Soon we'll be found

by Beatonen



Category: RWBY
Genre: Bees Schnees, F/F, I just wanted to write something, absolutely not a headcannon, after volume 4
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-18
Updated: 2017-03-20
Packaged: 2018-10-06 21:42:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10345161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beatonen/pseuds/Beatonen
Summary: After Weiss ran away from her father, she spent months wandering in Mistral, until she stumble upon Sun, and with him, on Blake.I just want them reunited.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I just wanted to say, often the titles of my stories is the title of the song I was listening to.
> 
> So this one is Soon we'll be found, by Sia. it's a wonderful song, if you ask me.
> 
> But anyway, I hope you'll like it! I still don't know how many chapters it will have, but I have some already written.

It wasn’t the first time she came to Mistral. Every time she came with her father, on a business trip, they always had the best, of course. Best hotel, best room, best food, best services… Of course, Jacques Schnee wouldn’t accept less than that. But this time, she was on her own. On the run. She had to keep her head low. So she ate the cheapest meals she could, rented the smallest room, so she could, at least, sleep with a roof above her head. She roamed the streets, not really knowing what she had to do. What she _wanted_ to do. That was the point of running away from home, but… with the CCT tower still down, she couldn’t just call her team to ask them where they were. She didn’t know why she chose to go to Mistral. Maybe it was the different scenery from Atlas, but if it were really that, she would have gone to Vacuo. No, she realised. Something _called_ her here, as strange as it sounded. But as the months went by, walking aimlessly from villages to villages, killing as many Grimm as she could on the way, she couldn’t help herself from asking _what_ called her here, exactly. But, at some point, when she was in a village near the capital of Mistral, sitting in a small halt house, with a bowl of mud-looking stew, drinking water off a not-really-clean mug, she saw her calling. Literally.

As her ice-blue eyes strolled lazily around the room, she didn’t really care when the door opened, still sipping from her mug. It was only when the person that entered started talking with the inn keeper behind the counter that her heart missed a beat. She knew that voice. Even hushed and low, she _knew_ that voice. A voice from Beacon. She looked over at the tall frame, hidden away under a dark cloak. As the man spoke, there was the faintest movement at the end of his cape. Like there was a tail, hiding under it. Blue eyes widened. _Sun_. She couldn’t believe it. What was he doing in Mistral? She could talk to him, ask him if he knew where Blake-

Her train of thought was interrupted when the tall blond man waved at the keeper, thanking him, and started walking towards the door. Quickly, the small woman followed him, hiding away under her gray cloak, slipping through the mass of people easily due to her small stature, following the man with some distance. She didn’t know how long she followed him, trying to muster the courage to talk to him, until he stopped near a small, abandoned looking cottage in the far end of the village. After glancing around quickly, he jumped the few steps and knocked at the door twice. She walked over to a merchant stand, trying to seem interested in the merchandise lying in front of her, keeping a watchful eye on the cloaked man. After a few seconds, the door opened, at first a small crack, and then opened wide to let him enter. The person inside was clothed in darkness, but Weiss could recognised those eyes anywhere. Gold irises.

“Blake”, she let out, half-sigh, half-murmur.

Even with the distance, the noises of the crowd, and the breathed name, those golden eyes fell right back on her, staring intensely, boring into ice-blue ones. The tall woman took a small step outside the door, holding her breath, as the smaller woman walked quickly to her, never breaking eye contact. The faunus woman was frozen in place, her heart pounding a mile a minute, ignoring Sun when he called her name, still torn between running away and staying. Weiss slowly climbed the few stairs, then stood in front of her, a look of relief and awe mixing in her azure eyes as she looked over at her quickly, her hands twitching under her cloak.

“Are you alright?” She asked in a hushed tone, looking at the faunus’s stomach between the pans of her coat, the remnant of a scar the only result of her wound that terrible night at Beacon.

Blake nodded slightly, her breath still caught in her throat, but she looked over her friend the same way the smaller woman did, searching for wounds. Blue-eyes flicked up into golden ones, a wrinkle between snow-white eyebrows.

“Can I… Can I hug you?” She breathed, her voice trembling.

Blake moved as if she couldn’t control her body. She grabbed the arm under the cloak, pulled her inside, slammed the door shut and pulled the smaller woman into her arms, finally able to let out the breath caught in her throat in a long, trembling sigh. The smaller frame shook in her arms, but Weiss still hold her with so much strength, with so much relief that she wasn’t sure she could let her go anytime soon. Sun looked at them in disbelief, the hood covering Weiss’s head falling, and he started walking towards them in shock.

“Weiss? What are you doing here?” He asked, voicing what Blake thought for a moment now.

Gently pulling away, Weiss sniffed a little, hadn’t realised the tears rolling down her cheeks. She was just so glad her friend was alright. With a small worried look, Blake softly whipped a few of them, Weiss shooing her hand away with a small smile, whipping them herself.

“I’m sorry” the white-haired woman said, motioning to her face with a small grimace. “I’m just so glad you’re alright, Blake” she said, clutching at her friend’s arms, looking up at her.

Blake smiled in return, pushing a white lock behind her ear, but her worried frown came back, and Weiss sighed as she saw it.

“I don’t know why I came to Mistral, really” she answered. “But I’m glad I did, because I found you!” She smiled again, squeezing softly again on Blake’s arms.

Blake’s eyebrows furrowed, her head cocking to the side slightly.

“What do you mean, you do-”

“Where’s Ruby and Yang?” Weiss asked, quickly glancing around the room.

It was rather dark. The few windows were covered with dark cloth or wooden sheets, the light of the sun filtered through the cloths or the many cracks on the walls. There was only one room, and the only person there were Sun, Blake and herself. As she looked back questioningly up to the dark haired faunus, she looked away, her ears drooping on top of her head, but not quickly enough for Weiss to see guilt in her eyes.

“Blake?” She asked softly, angling her head to try and look her in the eyes.

But the faunus only took a step back, then slowly walked to the far end of the room, crossing her arms on her chest. Weiss shot a worried look at Sun, who only averted his eyes, glanced at Blake and walked to the opposite end of the room, lifting a corner of cloth from the window to peek outside. There was a twist in the smaller woman’s gut, as she walked back to Blake.

“What happened, Blake?” She asked, this time a little firmer.

But seeing the faunus only look away again, her mouth firmly shut, Weiss started to feel a cold shiver running down her spine.

“Is it Yang?” She asked, her voice filled with worry, making it tremble as she spoke. “Is she… Is she alive? Is it Ruby?”

A hitch in her voice, and her breath caught in her throat. The last time she saw Yang, she was lying on the ground, a bloody cloth wrapped around the blonde’s arm. She could have bled out. And Ruby, after she climbed on top of the tower, she saw a bright, white light and she lost consciousness… to wake up in her father’s airship. Blake stepped to her instantly, gently resting her hands on the smaller shoulders, squeezing a little to look into blue eyes.

“No, they’re alright, both of them” she assured, and Weiss sighed in relief. “Well, as far as I know.”

“What do you mean ‘as far as you know’?”

Blake opened her mouth and glanced away, sliding her hands off her shoulders, but Weiss grabbed her hand, tugging gently to look back into golden ones, frowning.

“Talk to me, Blake” she murmured, almost pleading. “Please.”

The faunus closed her eyes, a weak sigh leaving her lips. She couldn’t look into her teammate’s eyes. She just couldn’t.

“I… I ran away. That night, at Beacon. After your father came to take you, after Ruby and Yang were taken into the airships. I left.”

The hand in hers went rigid, and she swallowed thickly. She waited for the small woman to scream at her, for her to go away. She waited for anger. She didn’t expect Weiss’s voice to be so soft as she spoke one word.

“Why?”

Blake seemed to deflate, eyes still closed, but her face looked pained, as if the mask she was wearing until now was slowly crumbling away. Her voice, low, barely above a whisper, was trembling and weak.

“I couldn’t risk Adam coming for one of you. I couldn’t risk Adam… killing one of you. So I ran. Being alone meant that he would come for me, and only me.”

Weiss squeezed her hand for a second, then asked.

“Why is Sun with you, then?”

The faunus snorted, opening her eyes to glance over her shoulder at the man peeking out the window, his tail swishing under the hem of the cloak.

“Because this idiot followed me and refused to leave” she said drily, a small smile ghosting over her lips as he looked over his shoulder to her and winked.

Weiss’s eyes narrowed, glancing back and forth between the two of them, but said nothing. Blake, seeing Weiss antic, rolled her eyes with a small huff, squeezing the hand in hers slightly. Then she looked over to her, the thick-cotton cloak, rough on Blake’s fingers as she trailed a hand on it to feel it, the huge hood large enough to cover the white-head and a good portion of her face. That was clearly not something the smaller woman would buy, the poor quality-looking of the thing only bearable by its usefulness. To keep her warm. Golden eyes glanced down to Weiss’s boots, covered in dust and mud, indicating that she walked a lot, and at her dust-covered clothes. Then shifted up to the eye bags under clear blue eyes, and Blake frowned.

“What are _you_ doing here, Weiss?”

Blue eyes looked away, wincing slightly, something that would have gone unnoticed if Blake wasn’t looking at her as closely as she was. But that only made Blake worry more, and she shifted to completely face her friend.

“Weiss?”

The white-haired woman grimaced slightly, shifting from foot to foot. Something, Blake recalled, the heiress did when she was truly uncomfortable.

“I… may have done something incredibly stupid?” She finally let out with a huff, her hand sliding off Blake’s to cross her arms under her cloak.

Blake raised her eyebrows. ‘Stupid’ wasn’t in the small woman’s habits, and the ‘stupid’ thing must have been thought out and about before she’d actually done it.

“Which means?”

Blue eyes quickly glanced up into golden ones, and Blake could see crimson creep from the pale skin of her neck, as the smaller woman huffed angrily.

“I ran away” she let out, almost spitting her words. “Father wasn’t letting me search for you guys, and Father’s hypocrisy was driving me crazy. After I…” She shifted again, her eyes flicking to the side, “’made a scene’, at one of Father’s ball to raise funds for the fall of Beacon, he…”

She sighed, this time an exhausted breath, her small frame seeming to deflate, her empty gaze staring at the wall in front of her.

“I’m not the heir, anymore. He named my little brother, Whitley, as the heir. I wanted to inherit the company, Blake. I wanted to make a change, to bring it back to what it once was in Grandfather’s hands, but…”

She looked up sadly in Blake’s eyes, defeated.

“Whitley is a smaller version of Father.”

Blake’s face was sharp, her jaw clenched tight, and Weiss looked away again, feeling guilty of not being able to keep her title as heiress.

“Father locked me away inside the mansion” she continued, her hands gripping at her own arms. “In my own room. I couldn’t get out, unless he ordered it. So I trained. And when I was ready, I ran away.”

She sighed again, looking the tip of her boots.

“I don’t know why I came to Mistral. I thought it was the last place Father’s men would search for me. I’ve been moving, villages to villages, collecting information on Grimm attacks and dealing with them, as many times as I could. If I could do that, then maybe I could still keep people safe, in my own way.”

“And then you found me” Blake’s low voice said gently, catching Weiss’s attention from her thoughts.

The white head nodded, and locked her eyes with golden ones.

“And then I found you” she repeated. “And don’t you dare leave me alone, Blake Belladonna. Am I clear?”

The faunus looked at her friend, saw the sharp chin wrinkling, the lips a thin, fine line trying not the tremble, and finally looked up at those big, wide sky-blue eyes, slowly filling with tears. Blake couldn’t believe all the emotions Weiss was willing to show her. After all their time at Beacon, Weiss rarely showed anything besides annoyance or anger, but sometimes, she did show worry and care, in her own way. But now, Blake thought, looking at those wide eyes, Weiss was willingly showing her how much she was worried about her friends. And how much she feared to be left alone, again. A lump in her throat, Blake pulled the smaller woman into her arms, squeezing her in an almost copy of Yang’s bear hug, squeezing the smaller frame against her until she felt Weiss hugging her back as strongly as she could. Blake nuzzled in ivory tresses, closing her eyes as she gently kissed the top of the ex-heiress’s head, and murmured in her hair.

“I promise, Weiss. I will never leave you.”


	2. Chapter 2

Blake explained to her, without many details, to Weiss what happened to them in Menagerie. The smaller woman was surprised; never Blake had mentioned her parents. Weiss had assumed they were dead, that Blake was an orphan. But Weiss only nodded and said nothing, keeping her questions for another time. The faunus explained to her that they, too, were running and hiding, from the White Fang, from Adam. Even if they were walking again, going from village to village like Weiss did for almost a year before, it was so much nicer to have someone with, although she could have enjoyed it better without Sun’s cat jokes and his tendency to bring trouble to them. But they were fine. They worked well enough together, when Weiss decided to clear a pack of Grimm she heard was giving trouble to some of the villagers. She never accepted cash from them, but she could accept a meal and a roof over their heads for one night, which they gladly obliged. Although they didn’t have their hunter license, the simple mention of being students at Beacon academy was enough. Blake, even though she was perpetually stressed that Adam’s spies would catch them, really enjoyed those “missions” Weiss got them. It took her mind off the White Fang for a couple of days, and she could actually cut through something. It was kind of therapeutic. Blake remembered Weiss’s fighting style from Beacon, and watching her fight now made her realised how the white-haired woman could take care of the Grimm on her own, before joining them; when she though Blake or Sun wasn’t looking, Weiss cast a glyph on the ground, and a snow-white Beowolf took the blow she was about to receive, or sent an albinos Ursa against a pack of Grimm. Blake was amazed at her friend’s skill. And that night, she decided to ask some questions.

They were sitting around the small campfire, in a clearance in the woods where they cleared a pack of Grimm, exhaustion clear on everyone’s faces. Sun stood, stretching his arms over his head, his tail curling on itself as he yawned loudly, before announcing he would get enough wood to last through the night, and walked away into the line of trees. Silently glad that Sun was gone, Blake looked over at Weiss, who was clutching the edge of her cloak around her to keep warm, her eyes staring into the fire, eyebrows creased, lost in thought. She saw her clench her jaw a few times, the fire sending dancing shadows on her sharp face.

“Hey, Weiss?”

Blue eyes looked up, the crease between snow-white eyebrows disappearing as the young woman hummed questioningly.

“You mentioned once that the Schnee family had a ‘power’” she said, using her fingers to quote the word. “Is it the summoning thing you do?”

The soft attention Weiss was giving her transformed as her features returned to the sharp, emotionless as before. Her jaw clenched again, her eyes returning to the fire, the wrinkle between her eyebrows deepening.

“You noticed?” She asked in a low tone.

Blake raised her eyebrows. She wasn’t expecting that reaction.

“Um… Yeah. Look Weiss, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s alright, Blake” Weiss interrupted her, her eyes still boring in the fire. “I just don’t like using it.”

This time, Blake frowned, cocking her head slightly to the side.

“Why?”

The smaller woman huffed, shifting as she clutched at her cloak tighter.

“Because it reminds me I’m a Schnee. It reminds me how much I sacrificed, how much I worked sweat and blood to finally be able to achieve it. How much pain I endured, reminding me how lonely I was throughout my life.”

“Weiss…” Blake breathed, but didn’t know what to say.

The smaller woman glanced at the tip of her boots before glancing up, looking straight into golden eyes with a small, sad smile.

“I wish I could be someone else” she finally murmured, looking back to the fire.

If Blake hadn’t been a faunus with keen hearing, she would have missed what Weiss just breathed to herself. But she heard. So she stood and walked to the white haired woman and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around the smaller frame, ready to back out if Weiss protested. She tensed but said nothing, before finally resting her head in the crook of the faunus’s shoulder.

“It’s really going to sound like a cliché” Blake started after a few minutes of silence, “but you wouldn’t be you if you weren’t a Schnee.”

Weiss snorted, the head on her shoulder twisting to look up into golden eyes with a small glint of humour.

“You read too much, Blake” she said with the faintest smile.

Blake smiled at that, but locked her eyes with blue ones, wishing she would see the sincerity in her words.

“Maybe. But that doesn’t change that fact. I wouldn’t trade you for anyone, Weiss. You are you because of what you’ve been through. I don’t want to live in a world where you don’t stomp your foot and yell at me because I _may_ have been a little careless.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment, Blake wishing she could phrase things better. But Weiss looked down and stared into the fire again, this time with a genuine smile, her head bumping into the taller woman’s shoulder.

“You really read too much” she murmured, her smile widening slightly when she heard Blake chuckle quietly.

 

 

After a couple of months, they found themselves in a fishing town, clearing a pack of Grimm for the terrified townsfolks. As they were making their way to the center of town, Sun caught the sight of a map in the corner of his eyes, and decided to run first to peek at it, trying to find out how much ground they’d covered. When Blake and Weiss joined him a moment later, her was staring thoughtfully at the map in front of him, his tail swishing behind him as he glanced at places on the map. After all their time together, both women never saw him look this serious.

“You okay, Sun?” Blake asked, her fingers brushing against his arm.

He twitched, glancing quickly up to them, blue eyes to golden ones, before falling back to the map.

“Yeah, I just…” He swallowed. “We’re here” he said, pointing a small portion of the map, directly beside a long and large stream of water. “And… Neptune’s hometown is right here” he continued, his finger pointing at the village on the other side of the river. “I didn’t saw him until I decided to go after you, Blake” Sun glanced up into golden eyes, unsure. “I told him I would stay safe, but I… I miss my best friend” he finished, looking back at the map.

Blake and Weiss glanced at each other, eyebrows raised in surprise. But before Blake spoke, Weiss’s voice rose.

“Are you asking us to let you go? Because if you are, I’d like to remind you that you are free to do what you want. I won’t leave Blake’s side, if that’s something that worries you.”

Sun straightened his back, looking over the women he traveled with for almost a year.

“I’d like to go, yeah. Thanks, Weiss” he added, looking down at the white-haired woman. “I know you’ll keep her safe.”

They started walking deeper in the bay, looking at all the boats that came and went, while Sun was buying a passage to the other side of the river. Being one of the group that took care of the Grimm, the Captain offered him a generous discount, and the three didn’t have to take too much of their funds. They settled for a fair amount for Sun, for his travel until at least the next town. Then, Sun had to board the boat, the ship imminently parting with the ground. He hugged Blake and she hugged him back with force, wishing him safe passage and safe travel, still not entirely believing he was going without them. Then, he hugged Weiss, and even though they weren’t as best friends as he was with Blake, she liked him enough to know that she’ll miss him.

“Keep her safe for me” he murmured in her ear, talking low enough that he knew Blake wouldn’t hear.

“I will” Weiss swore, whispering in the same manner. “I’ll protect her with my life.”

He chuckle softly, squeezing her tighter.

“I’d like to see you again, even if you don’t like me so much.”

She snorted and he pulled away, his hand on her shoulder, their eyes locked, and she nodded solemnly, seriously. He nodded in return, satisfied, grinned at them before jumping on deck, waving goodbye as the ship blew its horn, making Blake’s cat ears fall flat against her skull with a grimace. The ship parted slowly, then picked up speed, making it tinier and tinier, but they could still make out Sun’s silhouette waving at them, and they waved back. It was a strange feeling, for the both of them. Up until now, the people they cared about never left on their own accord. It was always an outside force that pulled them away, out of protection, obligation, or… death. Without a word, they walked back to the town, and without even speaking, decided they would do a little camping, tonight, accepting a little money from the townsfolk instead of a roof for the night. After a quick look at the map, they decided to go back to the center of Mistral, going up north-east. They didn’t really spoke for the rest of the night, except for indications, the strange feeling of Sun’s departure keeping them in silence. They realised now how it was the blond faunus that was always talking, keeping the mood light, but now that he was gone, neither of them knew what to say. It wasn’t until later, when they started a fire for the night, after they’d recovered enough wood to last the night, that Blake started talking. She told Weiss what happened to Sun in menagerie, that he was wounded and she thought he was about to die. She told her how she felt guilty, how Sun didn’t let her brood over it, that it wasn’t her fault, and never will, because _he_ wanted to be there with her. She told her about how he stayed with her ever since, where they’d gone to try and avoid Adam’s goons, told her about Sun’s poor jokes at inappropriate moment, she told her everything until Weiss found them.

“I’m really going to miss him” Blake murmured, toying absently in the fire with a stick.

Weiss nodded. Even though she didn’t really liked the guy, she kind of _appreciated_ him. He was kind and always happy to help, a happy-go-around member of their “team” she would miss. She looked up and sighed. Blake looked heartbroken, sitting directly on the ground, her left arm wrapped around her knees against her chest, her right arm holding the stick in the fire, her golden eyes looking a shade darker.

“Did you… Do you like him?”

Blake raised her eyebrows, looking up in somewhat shock. Then, a sly grin pulled the corner of her lips.

“Are we going to talk about boys, Weiss?”

The smaller woman rolled her eyes, throwing the thin branch she was toying with at Blake, making her chuckle quietly.

“I’m serious, Blake” she insisted. “It’s just… You do look heartbroken. I just wanted to know if I had to bring out the big guns.”

The faunus snorted, cocking her head to the side slightly, one eyebrow raised.

“Which is?”

The white-haired woman opened her mouth to answer, but closed it, looking into the fire as if she could see the answer in it. Then, she threw a hand in the air, shrugging.

“I don’t know yet, I guess I would have hugged you until you got tired of it” she finally sighed, sliding her hand on her face to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Blake chuckled lightly, and looked at the fire again, a soft smile on her lips. Weiss felt mortified. Well, partially. Part of her was happy that the faunus was smiling, but the other part of her felt like the biggest idiot. She’s never been one to talk about boys, or, more especially, love life. She sighed, thinking that at least, they talked a little, when Blake’s voice rose, soft but steady.

“I don’t think I like him. Well, of course I like him, I just don’t think I… have feelings for him. He’s a great guy when he’s not joking about my ears, and I’m comfortable around him, but I don’t feel… the thing. You know?” She said, looking up to Weiss.

Weiss nodded swiftly, understanding completely. She stared back into the fire, a strange feeling twisting her gut at the memory of seeing someone that she actually felt “the thing”, as Blake described. She bit the inside of her cheek slightly, lilac eyes dancing in front of her eyes, until Blake cleared her throat. Weiss’s head snapped up, blue eyes locking with glinting golden ones, an evil grin pulling her lips.

Oh, crap, Weiss thought.

“Do _you_ want to talk about boys?” Blake asked, teasing.

She huffed and rolled her eyes, crossing her leg over her knee in a manner that Blake knew meant she wasn’t interested. But the faunus wanted to tease the small woman, to see behind that wall of ice if someone was melting her friend.

“Is there someone, then?” She pushed, still with a grin.

Weiss felt her cheeks start to burn as lilac eyes flashed before her eyes again, even though she was trying to keep her mask. It seemed she wasn’t used to wear it anymore. Blake raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw the blush crept on the far-too-pale skin of Weiss, and hesitated for a second. She knew if she pushed too much, Weiss would only close herself, but these last months, Weiss had become more open with her feelings and emotions… it was worth a shot. Quickly, Blake crawled towards Weiss on her knees, too lazy to stand, and sat beside her white haired friend with a smile while the other was trying to hide her face in her hand. She knew Blake would ask questions. But she didn’t want to lie to her friend, not anymore, anyway. Blake looked at her for a short time, kind of enjoying the embarrassment of her friend.

“Is it someone I know?”

When Weiss stayed silent, Blake sighed, but did not stop. She was enjoying this a little too much. It was rare that the smaller woman was so embarrassed that she didn’t want to talk her way out of it.

“Okay, then. I’ll go through every possibilities” she nodded to herself. “Is it a boy?”

She looked down at Weiss, seeing her trying to hide her eyes with her palm, but she made a sound, a negative growl, kind of. Blake raised her eyebrows.

“A… A girl?”

The hesitation made Weiss tense, but after swallowing, she nodded slightly.

“Oh” was all Blake said.

Weiss’s neck, the only thing Blake could still see, turned a bright crimson, and Blake cursed herself for making her friend even more embarrassed than she already was.

“Well, that’s quite alright” she said lightly, her smile returning. “Okay, a woman…”

Blake narrowed her eyes, thinking who would be a good match for the smaller woman, while Weiss couldn’t believe she was playing somewhat along. Her train of thought was interrupted when, with a gasp, Blake’s hand fell on her knee.

“Is it Coco?” She asked, beaming. “Coco Adel, the third year?”

A piercing blue eye looked up at her, the blue of her eye seeming even more electric compared to her crimson face, but she shook her head with a small smile when she saw Blake deflate. As the guesses went by, Weiss was more and more at ease, kind of enjoying their little game. Blake was always guessing with a smile on her lips, her eyes glinting with affection and humour, but at each guess, Weiss shook her head. Slowly, Blake took more time to think of someone, and started to get slightly annoyed at each negative answer she received.

“I can’t believe I’m actually thinking about this” the faunus was mumbling, before speaking louder. “Glynda Goodwitch?”

Weiss gave her a sidelong glance before laughing, really laughing, clasping her hands together.

“As beautiful and distracting as she is, no, sorry. Guess again” she said, grinning slightly.

Blake was smiling, too. She was glad Weiss felt at ease to talk about her interests. She hummed again, looking up at the sky as she searched for someone else. She had named every woman she could think of that weren’t close enough for her to noticed. So, closer. Maybe JNPR. Nora was absolutely out of the question. So, she glanced down, unsure.

“Is it… Was it Pyrrha?” She asked softly.

Weiss sighed, staring at the fire. Of course, Blake had told her about Pyrrha, but she still couldn’t believe that someone so strong, so capable, could die.

“When we arrived, in first year, I admit I kind of had a crush on her.”

“Yeah, it was pretty obvious, now that I think about it” Blake added, laughing slightly when Weiss elbowed her in the ribs.

“But no” she continued. “Guess again.”

Blake raised her eyebrows.

“That leaves only our team” she declared.

After a second, Weiss nodded, a blush slowly creeping on her face.

“Is it… Is it me?” Blake asked, suddenly aware of their closeness. And her hand on the smaller woman’s knee.

Weiss looked up at her, her eyes glinting with mischief.

“I really like you, Blake. I really do, and sincerely I never thought you could be my best friend. But no, I don’t like you… like that.”

Blake nodded, smiling at her.

“I never thought you could be my best friend too, Weiss, but here we are, talking about girls” she said with a grin, chuckling when Weiss slapped her thigh. “Well, that leaves Ruby, then.”

Silence. After a few seconds, that felt like minutes, Weiss shook her head again, a crimson blush creeping on her face. Blake made a sound in the back of her throat, utterly surprised.

“Yang?” She asked in disbelief.

At that, Weiss hid her face in her hands, finally, _finally_ nodding. Oh, Blake thought. Well, that made sense. In their last year together, Weiss and Yang did get more time together, studying together, took projects together. They even had their stage in the Vytal tournament together. Blake remembered how quickly Weiss had protected Yang after the fiasco due to Emerald. It made so much sense, now that she thought about it.

But it was _Yang_.

“Really?” The faunus asked softly, smiling, brushing an ivory lock behind her ear.

A flash of blue appeared between Weiss’s fingers, and she nodded silently, still waiting for Blake’s teasing, but it never came. Instead, she felt the faunus pulled her into her arms and hugged her loosely, resting her chin on her head.

“I’m glad” the faunus said. “I know I didn’t have to like the person you had feelings for, but I’m kind of glad it’s Yang. She’s an amazing woman” Blake added.

Hesitantly, Weiss wrapped her hands around Blake’s wrists gently, not to pull her away, just to return the affection.

“I know” she murmured, her thumb gently caressing Blake’s hands.

Blake smiled a little, resting her cheek on top of her head.

“Do you want me to bring out the big guns?”

“Yes, please” Weiss breathed quietly.


	3. Chapter 3

The journey was long, but they didn’t care. They were living in the present, day to day, not really thinking about the future. They worked well together, they always did; Monochrome, Ruby called them. That was their team’s name. It suited them. The word spread. Villagers talking about the pair of huntresses, one black haired, the other white haired. So when they entered a village to buy some provisions, and the townsfolk recognized them, more often than not, they asked them to clear a pack of Grimm in exchanged of a meal and a roof for the night. That was all they wanted. Every time, they agreed to help and every time, the villagers were rejoicing, thankful. They never stayed in one place more than one night, however. In the early morning, they gathered their things and continued, walking on the road dangerous to anybody but to them. Sometimes, they stopped at bigger villages to buy supplies and food, and in those time, one of them would actually go and the other staying nearby, not wanting to be recognised. This time, Weiss was the one collecting food, but Blake liked it that way. Weiss was far better than her to negotiate, and she had a good eye to pick only the best fruits and vegetables. When Weiss finished with the food, she entered the small dust shop, hoping that no one would recognize her. She looked through different kind of dust crystals, knowing that Blake sometimes liked the raw power they held, and moved to check the dust-filled cartridge for Blake’s gun and her rapier. She was moving to the fire dust, taking one in her hand to see if there was any impurity, and saw a mechanical arm stretch beside her, taking some of the fire dust cartridge. It was a long time since she last saw Athlesian mech, but she could recognise it anywhere. Without thinking, she grabbed the robotic wrist, looking over at it.

“Is this Athlesian mech?” She asked, before looking up at the owner of the arm.

And she released the wrist instantly, gasping. Before her, a tall, blonde woman was staring at her through her sunglasses, which she was slowly pulling down. Both of them stared at each other in disbelief, and finally, Weiss’s eyes glanced down at Yang’s robotic arm, attached to her arm just below the shoulder.

“Where in Remnant did you get Athlesian mech?” She asked, thinking it was a dream of some sort.

Yang’s only answer was a bone crushing hug, dropping whatever she was holding in her hands, and buried her face in Weiss’s neck. It’s real, Weiss realized. She’s _here_. The pain caused by her ribs nearly cracking was true enough, and with a pained huff, she wrapped her arms around the taller frame and hugged with all the strength she could muster.

“Do you realise how long I’ve been searching for you?” Yang murmured, her trembling voice giving away that she was on the verge of tears. “I was so worried when I heard you’ve gone missing, I thought…”

A sob caught in the blonde’s throat, and Weiss hugged her tighter. She was, too, on the verge of tears and when she saw the clerk starting to walk towards them, a worried look on his face, she waved him away, before pulling away just a little, so she could look at the blonde in the eyes.

“But it’s been years since I ran away from Atlas, Yang” she said in disbelief, whipping her eyes to keep a certain control. “Don’t tell me you searched for me all this time?”

She shook her head, her fingers gently brushing over the pale skin of her cheek.

“The first thing I did when I was back in shape was find Ruby, then, with her, searched for you. I tried searching for Blake, but… She could be anywhere” she sighed, her hands wrapping on her shoulders, seeming happy just to feel her.

Weiss smiled widely, her hands wrapping around the blonde’s wrists just to feel her, too.

“Then your search has come to an end, my dear Yang. I’ve been traveling with Blake for almost two years, now.”

The blonde froze, mixed emotions passing rapidly in her eyes.

“You mean she’s _here_? Right now?”

Weiss nodded hastily, her smile widening as her grasp around her wrists tightened. Yang straightened her back, her hands falling between them to keep Weiss’s smaller ones in hers.

“Then let’s go see her” the blonde murmured.

 

 

After buying everything she needed, Weiss walked back to their meeting point with Yang, talking constantly, her sheer happiness making the tall blonde smile. She didn’t remember Weiss to be the blabbering type, rambling through stories, talking with her hands, her sky-blue eyes shining and her smile so wide. But she looked happy, far more than when they were back at Beacon. Yang, too, shared a few stories with her, and she listened with so much attention, her blue eyes locked with Yang’s lilac ones, sometimes she thought she were lost in those pools, before catching herself and continuing her story. At some point, Weiss looked over Yang’s shoulder when the blonde talked, and her smile widened.

“Blake!” She called, practically jumping as she jogged back to the small campfire. “Look who I found!”

Blake looked up with a small smile, then stood abruptly, her smile vanishing and a look of stupor taking its place. Only a few feet away, Yang stopped too, Weiss babbling without noticing for a few seconds, and after a moment her voice died down, blue eyes glancing back and forth between the two women.

“I’ll… bring some wood back” she declared before walking further in the woods, leaving them alone.

Blake cursed internally, Weiss being her only support in front of the blonde. She was frozen, like two years ago when Weiss had found her. But at that time, she wasn’t afraid, Weiss didn’t know what she did. No, right now, Blake was terrified of the blonde, not knowing if she had to apologise, or run, or both. Yang was looking at her, but her face showed no emotion, and she was still as a statue. That made Blake even more panic than calm, and she started slowly to back away, her faunus ears drooping slowly until they were flat against her skull with shame. Seeing Blake shrink, (she was literally shrinking, lowering herself like a scared animal) and her faunus ears flattening, Yang made a step towards her, reaching a hand.

“Blake…” she said softly.

She stopped when golden eyes fell on the offered hand, realizing too late that it was her robotic arm, and guilt spread across the faunus’s face, her ears flattening even more, and she turned on her heels slightly, preparing to run towards the forest line where Weiss had vanished. She needed some time alone, but she needed someone.

“Blake, don’t you dare run away again” she heard the blonde growl, pain and fear making her voice tremble.

Blake stopped half a second, glancing over her shoulder. Yang was there, standing, her hands balled into fists, but her face… Blake looked away. She couldn’t stand seeing Yang’s eyes filled with tears. But she didn’t want the blonde to worry.

“I’ll be back” she finally croaked over her shoulder, the emotion making her throat clench tight. “Wait here.”

And she took off, running into the treeline without glancing back. Running was good. She knew Weiss wasn’t far, she could hear her walking and cursing under her breath, but she needed some time. So she ran, making a large circle around the unaware white-haired woman, jumping across fallen trees, climbing into them, jumping off of them and rolling on her shoulder. After a while, she already felt better, and jogged towards her friend in a long arc, slowing the pace as she neared her, her breathing ragged, and she made enough noise for the smaller woman to snap her head up at her, her fierce look washing away when she saw her faunus friend.

“Oh, Blake” she breathed, dropping the small wood she had gathered in her hands and walking towards the dark-haired faunus, Blake meeting her halfway.

 

 

She didn’t know how long she waited. The sun had set for a while now, and beside the small campfire, there wasn’t any light nearby. Yang kept the fire, putting some more dry wood into it to keep it longer. She knew Blake had told her she’d be back, but she couldn’t stop thinking, worrying that she’d left again. Then again, Blake had run in the same direction Weiss had left, so probably the white-haired woman stopped her or something. She was lost in her thoughts when she heard a loud crack, a branch snapping under someone’s shoe, and she snapped her head up, already loading Ember Celica, but relaxed when she heard Weiss cursing, complaining that she couldn’t see a thing. As she neared the campfire, Yang could see Weiss gripping firmly Blake’s hand in hers, and as she sat her faunus friend around the fire, Yang could see the puffy eyes of the dark-haired faunus. Weiss sat between them, never releasing Blake’s hand, and sighed.

“I would give you two some time to talk, but Blake asked me to be here, so…” she trailed off, looking at her and squeezing slightly at her hand.

Blake looked up just enough to lock eyes with Weiss, her cat ears straightening a little with a small, thankful smile. But she stayed silent, staring at the fire, never looking up to Yang. The blonde stayed silent too, preferring to look both of them over, looking for wounds, scars or change she hadn’t noticed until now.

“I never meant to hurt you by leaving, Yang” Blake finally murmured, her eyes still staring in the fire.

The blonde scoffed, noticing the cat ears drooping lower against Blake’s scalp.

“Yeah, well you should have thought it through” the blonde remarked, crossing her arms.

“It was to protect you” Blake insisted, squeezing Weiss’s hand in hers, a wrinkle between her eyebrows.

“Protect me from what?” Yang snapped, balling her hands into tight fists, her eyes flaring red.

Weiss gave her a warning look, but said nothing, squeezing lightly the hand in hers.

“To protect you from Adam” Blake murmured miserably, her ears flat against her skull. “To protect you all from Adam” she added, glancing up at Weiss for a second before returning her eyes to the fire. “He came for me, that night at Beacon. He wanted to hurt me through the people I loved. That’s why he hurt you, Yang” she said, finally looking up. “I still don’t know how you’re still alive; he never misses.”

“Well, he did” Yang growled, her arms still crossed over her chest. “And you, you left me, you _partner_ , practically bleeding to death. You still had a _hole_ in your stomach. You couldn’t just stay long enough to heal, make sure I was alright, and _actually_ explained why you wanted to leave?”

“I couldn’t!” Blake snapped, her ears still flush on her scalp, but her face hard. “You would have argued, wouldn’t want me to go alone! And I did wait until you and Ruby were alright, in the airships. I may be a coward, but I still care!”

“Of course I would have argued!” Yang snapped back. “You think I would have let you go alone against him? Against anyone? I’m your partner, Blake! I wanted to be by your side for whatever was coming!”

“You weren’t ready! He cut your arm off, Yang!” Blake yelled, standing. “What do you think I would have done with you? You needed to heal!”

“Oh so that’s it? I wasn’t useful for you, so you left?” Yang yelled back, standing too. “Thanks for the reminder, by the way, I clearly don’t have a robot arm to tell me how much I sucked at protecting you!”

“Guys!”

They both looked at Weiss, who carefully placed her hands on each other’s shoulder, gently pushing them back to sit. Blake sat without a sound, her hands hugging her stomach while Yang fell back in her seat with a deep sigh. The red vanished from her eyes as she looked up at the faunus, who was biting her lips, as if she was trying not to cry.

“Look, Blake… The point is, I’m not mad at you for leaving. I’m mad at you for leaving _without an explanation_.”

Blake looked up slightly, not sure she heard right.

“You… but I left…” Blake mumbled, trying to understand.

“Yes, you left” Yang interrupted her, “without explanation. Do you know how it feels, Blake? When someone leaves without explaining? It feels horrible. Why, you may ask? Because after that, you remember everything you’ve done, because you think that maybe, it’s because of you that the person left.”

Blake stared at her, guilt washing on her face.

“Yang…”

“I get why you left, Blake” she interrupted again. “I _get_ it, really. And if you’d stayed long enough to actually talk to me, to try and make me understand, I would have agreed. I was in no shape to fight, not so soon. But you never gave me the chance to understand, Blake. You left without explaining, and _that’s_ what drives me mad.”

Blake’s eyes filled slowly with tears and she curled onto herself, letting her hair hide her face, and she sniffed quietly.

“I’m so sorry, Yang” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I’m so, so sorry that I left you, I-”

A sob caught her by surprise, and as Weiss shifted closer to the faunus, Yang had jumped to the other side, her features softening, lilac eyes as understanding and caring as they always were.

“I forgive you, Blake” she murmured, her large palm rubbing up and down the faunus’s back. “You had a lot on your plate. I understand.”

The faunus clawed at the blonde’s hand through her tears, twitching slightly when she felt the cold robotic hand in hers, but she held onto it as if she was drowning. The blonde pulled her gently in her arms, hugging her softly as the faunus shed her tears as quietly as she could, and Yang rested her cheek on top of the dark head. Lilac eyes looked over at Weiss, her snow-white eyebrows creased into a frown of worry, but she had a small smile on her lips, her hand gently rubbing Blake’s arm. Feeling her stare, blue eyes looked up directly into lilac ones, and her smile widened slightly as Yang reached her robotic hand to her. Weiss took it, and yelped a little when the blonde tugged on it, making the smaller woman sit on Yang’s lap so she could hold them both. Hiding under the blonde’s chin, wrapped in the blonde’s warmth, in her scent, Dust, _sitting in her lap_ , Weiss felt as if she was being blessed for something she wasn’t sure she did. She heard a quiet chuckle and looked to her side, seeing the amused glint in golden eyes as Blake whipped her tears away, sniffing with a teasing smile. As Yang hugged them tighter, and Blake wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, she felt a violent blush creep on her face, and she hid it deeper in the crook of the blonde’s neck, while Blake chuckled softly.

“So glad to have my girls back” Yang murmured, sighing contentedly, nuzzling into white and black tresses.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> as I said in the tags, this is not a headcannon.

Somewhere, in the reasonable part of her brain, she knew it was just a dream.

But apparently, her brain wasn’t listening to that part.

So she ran, in the long hallway of her father’s mansion, passing doors in that endless hallway, fear twisting her gut like a giant hand clutching at her insides. She ran and ran, but she still could see the shadow following her, gaining on her. She decided to crash against a door, twisting the doorknob and pushing it open, rushing in as the door slammed against the wall, only to find herself in that same, endless hallway. So she continued running, breathless, her heart beating a mile a minutes, hearing the footsteps approaching behind her, feeling the cold stare on her neck, but whatever she did, she _knew_ not to look over her shoulder. Just keep going, she kept telling herself. She tried another door, again running in the same, desperately white hallway, the doors lining up on each side of her as she passed them. She heard a noise, a mix between a growl and a sigh, a rumbling growing louder, and she could feel her body going colder and colder. Her legs and lungs burning, she stumbled, but quickly resumed her running, a panicked whine escaping her throat as she could feel something brush against her back. Again, she tried a door, only to keep a certain distance between her and whatever was tailing her, but it was there, she could feel it. Could hear it. And as she, finally, brought herself to glance over her shoulder, to see what was trying to catch her, a large, burning hand wrapped around her arm, and she screamed.

 

 

Usually, they didn’t bother taking turns to take watch at night, judging that they were too close from a village, that Blake, with her sharp hearing and being a terribly light sleeper, would hear them long before they could see them. But now, deep in the woods, the nearest village being a few days’ worth of walking, they didn’t take any chances. Yang had volunteered, letting Blake and Weiss go to sleep while she stared at the fire, lost in thought. She promised Ruby to be back in a month, and they were slowly going back to the village Ruby was supposed to wait. Yang just hoped Ruby hadn’t run to the next village out of boredom by the time they got back. When she felt her eyelids growing heavier, she stood and stretched, then walked as silently as she could to not wake Blake, circling the camp, making sure they were fine, bringing back some wood at the same time. Her ‘shift’ was uneventful, time passing slowly as her two teammates slept, and Yang’s round around the camp kept her awake enough to noticed that something wasn’t right. Her watch was nearing to an end, but Yang realised, as she walked back to the campfire with a handful of wood again, that the air was colder at the camp. She furrowed her brows. It didn’t made sense, there was a fire. She heard a mumbling, someone shifting on their bedroll, and Yang quickly glanced at her teammates. Weiss was lying on her side, her blanket sliding off of her as she mumbled and shifted, a deep wrinkle between her eyebrows. As Yang made her way to her, Blake suddenly sat upright.

“Don’t touch her” she whispered hastily, blinking sleep from her eyes as Yang stared at her, surprised.

“I think she’s having a bad dream” the blonde whispered back, still walking closer to the small woman. “I’ll wake he-”

“Don’t touch her!” Blake half-hissed, half-growled, too tired to explain further.

Frowning, Yang looked down at Blake, her fists tightening at her sides as she heard Weiss’s mumbling growing louder, her breathing growing ragged. Yang couldn’t understand why Blake insisted on keeping the white haired woman into her sleeping torture, and with eyes flashing red, feeling a rush of heat through her body, she clenched her teeth.

“Why?” She asked through her gritted teeth.

Blake pushed her blanket aside and stood, stretching slightly with a grunt, and walked towards the fire while she rubbed at her eyes.

“Nothing good ever happens when someone wakes her from a nightmare. I’ll make some tea.”

Yang couldn’t believe it. Blake looked unfazed with Weiss’s pain, and after so many years together, she expected at least worry. Yang wasn’t just angry; she was furious. Staring defiantly at the faunus, her fists clenched so tight that her knuckles were white, she stepped closer to Weiss’s bedroll. Maybe she was just too tired to really understand Blake’s warning. It never crossed her mind that if Blake warned her, it was because _maybe_ , something bad _did_ happen. But still, the blonde couldn’t stand seeing Weiss with that much pain, and as she kneeled by the smaller woman’s side, Blake saw her, her eyes widening as she was about to yell at Yang not to touch her again. With a hand that was probably hotter than normal due to her fury, Yang gently grabbed Weiss’s arm to wake her.

Instantly, Weiss sat upright in her bedroll, screaming her lungs out, knocking Yang to the ground, as a big glyph formed itself behind the white-haired woman. A tall, giant albinos knight rose to its full height, the fire sending shadows on its shining armor, swinging his large, enormous sword to the side into an offensive stance. Yang was frozen in place, gaping, barely noticing Blake jumping in front of her with her sword and sheath in hands.

“Weiss! Wake up!” Blake barked at the smaller woman still screaming. “It was just a dream, you’re safe!”

The screaming stopped, and the knight froze as it brought the large blade above its head to swing it down on them. Yang risked a glance on Weiss, the smaller woman huffing and puffing, her azure eyes glancing quickly around her to finally fall on them. She locked her eyes with Yang, than looked at Blake, a creased between her eyebrows appearing and deepening at the sight of Blake’s blade. Closing her eyes for a second, she glanced over her shoulder at the knight. At the same time, the gigantic white figure brought the tip of his sword to the ground, dropping on one knee and bowing its head to Weiss. Guilt flickered across Weiss’s face as she glanced back to them, staring at the faunus.

“Blake, I told you a thousand times-”

“It was Yang” Blake interrupted her, glancing down to look into lilac eyes, hard. “She didn’t listen.”

A silence fell on them, Weiss clenching her jaw a few times as Blake sheathed her weapon and walked back to the fire, back to the tea she was preparing. Yang stayed on the ground, glancing back and forth to the giant, white knight to the small woman who was staring at her, her eyes emotionless. Finally, Weiss pushed her blanket aside.

“Don’t wake me up, next time” was the only thing she said to her, before walking to the bowing knight.

Even standing, she wasn’t even reaching the hilt of the sword, Yang realised when Weiss stopped in front of the white figure. Gently, the small, ivory hand pressed on the gauntlet resting on the hilt of the sword, Weiss silently taking in the sight.

“I’m sorry I called you” she murmured. “You can rest, now.”

The same way he appeared, a glyph set under the kneeling knight, and it slowly took back the tall figure, as if he was sinking in the glyph. Weiss stood there until it was gone, a glint on the ground the last remnant of the knight she had summoned, before turning back on her heels and walking straight to the fire, ignoring Yang on the way. As she sat, Blake offered a cup to her, and she took it without looking, nodding her thanks, and silently started sipping, Blake doing the same. Slowly, Yang stood, brushing the dirt and dust from herself, making her way slowly to the fire, before sitting silently beside Weiss, making a fair distance between them. For the first time in a long time, Yang felt small.

“I, uh…” she started, and only a flash of gold told her someone was listening. “I understand that I made a mistake. I’m sorry” she murmured, staring at the fire, her flesh hand toying with her robotic fingers.

She was met with silence for a time, the other women still as a statue, until Blake poured some tea in a third cup before offering it to the blonde without a word. Taking it and thanking her quietly, Yang risked a glance to Weiss, hiding her face in her cup. The small woman was holding her cup with both hands, as if she was trying to warm her hands, her sky-blue eyes staring into the fire absently. After what seemed an eternity, Weiss spoke, her voice even.

“I wish you could just listen, sometimes” She said, and Yang couldn’t even decide if she was being mean or if she was just voicing her thoughts, so she stayed silent. “I could have killed you.”

Blake stayed silent, burying her nose in her cup. Yang snorted, her robotic hand balling into a fist.

“It takes a lot more than a slice to kill me, Weiss.”

She glance up at her, glaring cold daggers at the blonde, her mouth twisting in what seemed like a snarl.

“He would have done a lot more than a single slice, Yang. He wouldn’t have stopped until I told him to. I would have killed you.”

“Not you.” Yang said, bringing her cup to her lips. “That knight-thing you summoned would have.”

Weiss jumped to her feet, her cup falling to the ground as Weiss stared at Yang, her face twisted in anger, her fists clenching so tightly her arms were shaking, her eyes piercing Yang’s.

“ _He_ is not a _thing_!” she snarled through gritted teeth. “He’s so much more than that! He’s-”

Her voice caught in her throat, her eyes filled with tears of rage as she just trembled, unable to speak her mind. Yang glanced down, feeling small again, clenching and unclenching her robotic hand.

“I didn’t mean to offend you, Weiss” she said softly, quietly. “I just don’t think it’s your fault.”

When the silence stretched into minutes, Yang looked up to see Weiss still staring at her, her mouth shut in a thin, fine line, but her fists were clenched not so tightly, anymore. Their eyes locked for a second, and suddenly she turned on her heels, starting to walk into the forest. Yang stood, wanting to follow her, but a hand caught her wrist and she looked down. Blake was still staring at the fire, her features tired, her ears perked on top of her head, flicking in Weiss’s direction.

“Give her some time. Five minutes. And please” She said, glancing up, golden eyes in lilac, “listen, this time.”

Holding her gaze for a second, she sighed and sat where Weiss was, running a hand in her hair. As she looked at Blake, she noticed that the faunus looked distracted, her ears atop her head flicking constantly, her eyebrows creased slightly.

“Is she alright?” Yang asked, her voice sounding like a child’s.

Blake flashed her a glance before returning to the fire, her attention still elsewhere.

“She’s crying, but it’s more from anger than anything.” The faunus answered quickly.

Yang’s shoulders slumped, the tall blonde seeming to deflate. She really hadn’t meant for all of this.

“What happened?” she asked, hoping Blake would answer her.

Distracted, Blake furrowed her brow.

“What do you mean? You were there, Yang.”

“No, I mean” the blonde sighed, shifting in her seat. “What happened for the whole ‘Waking up Weiss having a nightmare’ thing to be such a big deal?”

Blake blinked, her face unreadable, only for her cat ears drooping a little.

“I’m not sure-”

Yang grabbed her hand, finally gaining her attention, and silently asked her again. Blake sighed, looking down at Yang’s robot arm.

“Weiss was having a nightmare, and Sun tried to wake her while I was doing a little scouting, farther away from the camp. I heard her screams, and ran back as fast as I could, but by the time I got back, Sun had a slice the length of his back, and the knight was crushing him in his hand. I yelled at Weiss while I attacked her knight, but…”

She sighed again, silently sliding her fingers on the metal sheets and panels of her robot hand.

“No matter how hard I hit, no matter how many bullets I put into the armor, nothing brought him down. Until Weiss snapped out of her dream. It pretty much was the same; the knight kneeled before her. And, well, of course she blamed herself, and you know how she is” she said, finally glancing up into lilac eyes, “hard on people, even harder on herself. She asked me to never let anyone wake her up from a nightmare again, and she took care of Sun’s wound, paying for his medical bill when we had to take him to a hospital.”

Yang hummed, a wrinkle between her eyebrows.

“Who is he, anyway?” She asked after a silence.

Blake shrugged, bringing her cup to her lips only to wince when the now-cold tea rushed in her mouth.

“I don’t know, she never talked about him” Blake said, throwing the rest of her tea beside her in the grass. “And I’m smart enough to not ask. Everything related to her family in as touchy as ever, if not a little more.”

The blonde nodded silently, thoughtful. After a few seconds, she looked up at Blake.

“Can I go see her, now?”

Instantly, the faunus’s ears jerked back, flickering, Blake’s gaze staring absently in front of her. With a small nod, she looked back at Yang.

“I think it’s alright for you to go” she said, gently squeezing her hand. “Just… Be gentle. And it may be a while before you find her; she has a tendency to hide in trees. And-”

“Blake” Yang interrupted her with a smile. “I got this. Don’t worry.”

 

 

Sometimes, she wished she could be a faunus.

Walking in the pitch-black forest for what seemed to be a decade, Yang cursed yet again for she couldn’t see a thing. If she looked back, over her shoulder, she could still see the small light of their campfire; she had to keep it in sight if she didn’t want to get lost. But clearly, she thought, to find Weiss, she should have asked Blake to come with her. Sighing for the hundredth time, she rounded around a tree trunk, large enough that three people couldn’t make it around, and it was with a surprised yelp that she tripped on something. Something that yelled back.

“Yang?! Can’t you look where you’re walking?!”

The high-pitched, annoyed voice was Weiss’s alright.

“I would if I actually _could_ see farther than my nose” the blonde grumbled, sliding against the tree trunk to sit beside the smaller woman. “I can’t see a thing in the dark.”

The only thing she could make out of Weiss what her white hair, the rest of her body, concealed with her gray cloak, was just another variation of all the shades of the dark forest.

“You really can’t see?” Weiss asked after a moment, her voice genuinely curious.

“Yeah. It may be related to the ‘I can lit myself in fire whenever I’m angry enough’ thing, but I guess I’ll never know.”

There was a rustling noise, Weiss probably moving under her cloak.

“How many fingers can you see?” She asked.

Yang huffed, starting to be annoyed.

“Dammit, Weiss, I told you, I can’t see _shit_. I don’t even know where your hand is, and I can barely see you. Only because of your hair I know you’re still sitting beside me, but that’s all I can see.”

“Then why come find me in the first place, if you can’t see where you’re going?”

“ _Because_ ” She breathed, exasperated, “I actually forget that I can’t see in the dark. And also because I wanted to apologise and talk to you.”

A silence. A really, _really_ long silence. At some point Yang frowned, not sure if the white spot in front of her wasn’t just a trick of the moonlight and the smaller woman was gone.

“Weiss?” She called, a little louder than her normal voice.

“I’m right beside you, you oaf” was the immediate answer, slightly amused.

“Oh” Yang sighed, relaxing, hadn’t noticed that she had tensed. “I thought you left and I was talking to a tree.”

Surprisingly, that made her chuckle quietly, and a small hand, a little cold, slid in her flesh and blood one, squeezing slightly.

“Now, you’ll know that I’m not gone” she said quietly, before shifting closer, sharing her warmth with Yang’s.

“Thanks.”

She was sincerely thankful for the physical contact, not needing her eyes anymore. So she just slumped back against the trunk, pulling Weiss a little closer to her side, Surprised that the petite woman actually snuggled closer, shivering slightly. It kind of was cold, and Yang’s body heat was always high, Weiss snuggling her was to steal some of her warmth. When she shivered again, Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and the white head rested in the crook of her shoulder, sighing contentedly. They stayed in comfortable silence for a time, listening as the nocturne animals trotted by, a howl signing far away. She could feel Weiss relax against her, and at some point, the small fingers entwined with Yang’s, thumbing the scarred knuckles of the brawler gently. After a sigh, Yang looked down at the head on her shoulder.

“Who is he, Weiss?” Yang asked quietly.

The smaller woman instantly tensed, and Yang cursed herself and her curiosity. As she opened her mouth to apologize, the small hand in hers squeezed tight.

“Blake, I know you’re listening. And I do hope so, because I won’t talk about it twice” she started, her voice soft but steady.

She took a deep breath, straightening herself against Yang.

“The thing with my summoning is… I…” she cleared her throat, taking another deep breath. “He was my mentor” she settled for, the hand in hers trembling slightly. “He was the best, really. Kind, but strict. Always constructive critics. Always pushing me to my limits. And most of all, he believed in me.”

She paused, taking a deep breath again. Yang heard the rustling of clothes, and figured that Weiss just ran a hand through her hair.

“He believed I could be a huntress” she continued. “He thought I could be one of the best, with the right training. He was my mentor for… As long as I remember. He was always there. He was more of a father figure than my own father, to me.”

“What happened to him?” Yang asked quietly.

She knew it wasn’t a story with a happy ending.

It took a while for Weiss to muster the courage to continue, to resume her story. She swallowed thickly, and cleared her throat.

“The thing with my summoning is that… I have to kill them before I can summon them.”

A cold shiver ran down the blonde’s spine as Weiss continued on, her voice, empty, absent, started trembling.

“Father wanted to make sure I was ready to be considered a soon-to-be huntress. He didn’t want me ridiculing the Schnee name at Beacon. So he set a match between me and my mentor. A battle to the death.”

Yang shifted slightly, trying to look down to the smaller woman in her arms.

“Weiss-”

“It was either him killing me and I would bring dishonor on the family and, by all means, never being able to be a huntress, or I kill him, proving my worth to my father and starting at Beacon. And eventually, being able to summon him.”

A shaky sigh shook her frail shoulders.

“That’s where I got my scar. Of course, he wouldn’t die easily, bringing me to my limit.”

Weiss fell silent. After a moment, the sound of leaves and twigs crunching and snapping under footsteps started to be heard, and Yang tensed. But before she could stand, Blake’s voice rose.

“Do you think he let you win?”

Yang couldn’t even make her out in the dark. Blake’s favorite color was darkness itself. But, she could see her eyes, two golden globes glowing in darkness, and as the noise and movement her eyes made, the blonde supposed she sat on the other side of Weiss.

“I hope not” Weiss answered after a little thinking, apparently unfazed by the sudden appearance of Blake. “The best I could do to him was to defeat him in a fair fight.”

The head on the crook of the blonde’s shoulder left, only to rest against Blake’s shoulder, but the hand in hers stayed, fingers squeezing as tightly as they were.

“I’m sorry” Yang murmured, her thumb caressing the soft skin of Weiss’s hand.

“I am, too. He was my best friend. And I killed him to appease my father” she sighed, her small frame shaking slightly.

After another moment of silence, Blake and Yang trying to give as much comfort to Weiss as they could, Blake cleared her throat gently, and asked softly.

“Do you need the big guns, tonight?”

With a soft snort, Weiss butted her head against the faunus’s shoulder, still holding tightly onto Yang’s hand.

“Yes, please” she finally breathed.


	5. Chapter 5

She woke up with a start, not really knowing what had woken her. Her heartbeat was a little faster than normal, but nothing really alarming. No, it was the way she breathed, or, at least, tried to. She opened her eyes when she couldn’t take a deep breath, glancing around her quickly, before realising where she was.

Blake was sleeping on her side, in front of her, her ears flicking because of a small gust of wind. And, as she looked down, she realised why she couldn’t breathe properly: Yang’s right arm, the robotic one, was wrapped around her, pressing on her stomach more than necessary. She glanced over her shoulder, hearing the soft and deep breathing of the blonde, telling her she was still asleep, and gently tried to pry herself from under the crushing embrace. As her fingers wrapped around the robotic wrist, she shivered, feeling how cold the metal was in her hand, and tried to pull it, but it wouldn’t move. Slightly annoyed, Weiss tried with both hands, pulling on the arm for it to move even a single inch, but it stayed stubbornly in place. With a small sigh due to the physical restriction, she elbowed Yang somewhat gently.

“Hey” Yang grumbled, her voice raspy as she took a sharp breath. “Morning.”

“You’re crushing me, oaf” Weiss grumbled, pulling on her arm to explain.

It took a moment for her to realise, but when she did, her eyes widened, her grip loosening as Weiss sighed, taking a deep breath, Yang’s robotic hand resting on her hip, her thumb drawing circles as she apologised.

“I’m so sorry, Weiss” she whispered, trying not to wake Blake. “I still have trouble with my arm’s calibration. I’m really sorry.”

Weiss huffed, taking the hand on her hip and bringing it in front of her eyes, toying with her fingers gently.

“It’s alright. If you want, I’ll look into it later. Just…” she paused, glancing over her shoulder, a glint in blue eyes. “Don’t crush me again.”

Yang smiled, nodding silently as Weiss settled again, shifting to lay her head on Yang’s arm, the flesh one, under her head, still toying with the robotic hand, turning it back and front, flexing the fingers, tracing the panels with her finger. Lilac eyes glanced around, noticing the rising sun, painting the sky in soft orange, purple and pink colors.

“You wanna sleep in a little more, or you want to toy with my hand until Blake wakes up?”

She had whispered in the smaller woman’s ear to make sure Blake wouldn’t wake up, and she felt Weiss shiver slightly. But she wiggled in place, lying on her other side to face the blonde, the robotic hand still in hers.

“I won’t be able to go back to sleep, not with the rising sun, anyway” she sighed.

A mumble behind her back made her glance over her shoulder, and she smiled softly. Blake, feeling Weiss close, had shifted, snuggling closer to the smaller woman’s back, leaning her forehead between her shoulder blades.

“But…” She let out after a little thinking. “This is nice. Really nice.”

Yang laughed softly as she saw Weiss snuggled a little more against Blake, still holding Yang’s hand in hers, and Weiss smiled at her when their eyes locked.

“So maybe I’ll go back to sleep for a bit.”

Yang nodded, shifting closer, leaving her robot hand in Weiss’s as she leaned and nuzzled ivory tresses for a second.

“Alright, sleep tight” she murmured, her eyelids already feeling heavy. “I’ll use some sleep too.”

 

**** 

 

“I wish I could take some photos” Blake mused, siting before her two friends, knees crossed, her chin resting in her hand as her elbow was planted on her knee.

Weiss glanced at her before rolling her eyes, twisting again the small screwdriver, making Yang’s robot fingers twitch. The panel of the inside of the robotic arm was open, leaving the many bolts and cables and many more things that were too technical for Blake to understand. Yang was holding the small, easily transportable can of oil for Weiss, while the can of grease rested at Weiss’s other side on the bench.

“I wish you could too” Yang chirped in, smiling largely. “Ruby’s going to flip when she knows she’s not the only tech loving nerd that toyed with my arm.”

At what Weiss huffed, still focused on what she was doing, taking the oil can from Yang’s hands and making a few drops fall.

“Ruby already knows I love Atlas tech, Yang. And she’s done a really good job adjusting your arm” she mumbled to herself, moving the tool to another place near the elbow.

Yang winced slightly, her smile faltering for a second when Weiss twisted the screwdriver a few times, and Weiss straightened her back, whipping her bangs away from her face with the back of her hand, leaving a dark, sticky line of grease on one eyebrow.

“Wiggle your fingers for me?”

Yang obeyed, looking down at her hand as Weiss stared at the moving cables and wires in front of her.

“Maybe if I follow that one…”

Still mumbling under her breath, she shifted closer, opening the panel just under the shoulder, her eyebrows furrowed as her lips pressed in concentration. Yang’s smile only grew wider when, lost in thoughts, Weiss’s index finger, dark with the mix of oil and grease, ran down her nose before she continued to work on her arm. Lilac eyes glanced over at Blake and the faunus had the same small, amused smile, golden eyes locking with hers.

“I can’t wait to meet up with Ruby” the white haired blurted out suddenly. “I missed her so much, and we’re so close, now.”

She looked up with a smile, her eyes shining, locking with lilac and golden ones.

“The team will be one again.”

 

**** 

 

Weiss hadn’t lie when she said she knew her Atlas tech. Yang’s arm felt even more accurate, the tests she made Yang do to calibrate the arm making it feel like a real one. The blonde was ecstatic, and thanked Weiss many, many times, making the smaller woman blush. After checking the map Blake had kept shortly after Sun left, Yang told them they were approximately two days from the small town she and Ruby was supposed to meet, and they gathered their things right away. That night, when they arrived at the small village next to the town they had to go, they decided to sleep at the inn, for it would probably start raining through the night. There was only one inn in the village, and one last room to rent: they took it, without even asking. After their meal, they climbed upstairs to drop their things, and it was with small surprise they noticed the one and only bed of the small room.

“We’ll never fit on that” Weiss commented, raising a single eyebrow as she saw on the edge to see if it was comfortable.

Yang huffed, waving her hand in front of her, tossing her comment aside.

“Of course we will. We’ll just have to squish a little. And with that note, I’m taking the shower fir-”

The sound of falling water coming from the bathroom interrupted her, and she looked up, shocked, at Blake, who was closing the bathroom door with a wink.

 

**** 

 

“How can it be so cold when we’re _inside_?” Weiss asked, shivering in her blue nightgown she decided to wear while the rest of her clothes were drying.

“I don’t think the heater works” Blake mumbled, knocking a fist on the damn thing. “You’ll have to bundle up, I guess.”

Without another word, the smaller woman climbed on the bed and slipped under the covers, shivering. Blake bit her cheek, trying not to laugh as she walked to the bed with a book in her hand, and as soon as she sat and stopped shifting, sliding her legs under the covers, Weiss snuggled against her with an angry huff.

“How can you be so warm when it feels like an Athlesian winter” she grumbled, rubbing her ice cold fingers on Blake’s sleeves to try and warm them.

The faunus snorted, wrapping an arm around the trembling shoulders, providing a little more of her warmth to Weiss.

“You’ll be happy when Yang gets here” she teased, winking when blue eyes locked with hers.

The smaller woman rolled her eyes, snuggling closer but stayed silent, her head tucked comfortably in the crook of Blake’s shoulder as the faunus flicked her book open, and angled it so Weiss could read, too. By the time the blonde finished washing her clothes and hung them up to dry, Weiss was already half asleep, Blake curled up around her book with Weiss nestled against her. Yang smiled, walking around the side of the bed, having the side of the window. As she slid under the covers, her lilac eyes fell on the title of the book.

“Oh, I know that one” she smiled up at Blake, the flicker of one ear the only thing telling her she was listening. “That’s the book you were reading the first time I met you. When Ruby and I wanted to introduce ourselves. Awkward times.” She trailed off, her brows furrowing at the memory.

Blake raised her eyebrows, surprised. It was indeed that book. She knew the blonde could be observant sometimes, but she still could surprise her.

“I remember perfectly” she let out, amused.

At that moment, Weiss rolled to Yang, wrapping her ice cold fingers around the blonde’s arm, making her yelp.

“Whoa there, Weiss-icle” Yang grimaced, pulling the smaller hands away, making Weiss whine.

“But I’m cold and you’re always so warm” she pouted slightly, too tired – and cold – to really care. “Warm me.”

The blonde snorted, making the smaller woman roll over so she could spoon her, taking her hands in hers, feeling her shiver and tremble slightly. Yang looked up, gently poking Blake on her thigh to catch her attention.

“Come on, Blake, we have to make a Weiss-cream sandwich” the blonde wiggled her eyebrows, waiting for a reaction.

As golden eyes stared at her emotionlessly, there was a silence, a heavy silence, until Weiss glanced over her shoulder.

“The only reason I’m still in your arms - and by all means, why you’re still alive – is because I’m too cold to get out. I do hope you’ll take that under consideration next time you want to make puns that bad.”

Blake couldn’t help but smirk at that, while Yang only roared in laughter, causing Weiss to grimace slightly. But the faunus did close her book and leave it on the bedside table, sleeping deeper under the covers, turning her back to Weiss so the smaller woman could spoon her, comfortably squished between the two warm women. Weiss shifted, wriggling on arm under the black head, her other arm wrapping around Blake’s waist, nuzzling in the faunus’s hair, sighing contentedly. Blake reached out from under the covers and turned the bedside lamp off, leaving them with the moonlight that flowed from the window. It seemed like only two seconds after Blake settled in again, and Weiss was fast asleep, breathing deeply and slowly, nestled in warmth. With a small laugh, Yang nuzzled in ivory tresses, resting her flesh arm over them over the covers, and she heard Blake’s content sigh.

 

**** 

 

“Are we there yet?”

Yang closed her eyes, trying to muster the willpower needed not to snap. Weiss had been eager to leave the inn early this morning, impatient of finally seeing Ruby. But that made the smaller woman incredibly annoying, asking when they’ll arrive at each five minutes or so. She glanced at Blake, and she could see Blake’s mouth firmly shut, her cat ears perked and eyes forward, decided to not say anything at Weiss’s antics. At first it was cute, Weiss practically bouncing at the idea that she’ll be reunited with her partner today, but now… Weiss was looking at the map sceptically, walking behind them.

“We should be there already” Weiss commented again, flicking her fingers on the map. “I don’t understand why we’re taking so long!”

“You know the maps can be slightly inaccurate, Weiss” Blake tried to reason. “Not many people travel past their town.”

“But it can’t be _that_ inaccurate” Weiss argued, and Yang could see the faunus close her eyes, muttering something under her breath. “We should have reached the town an hour ago!”

“I don’t know what else to tell you, we’ll be there soon” Blake let out, her tone annoyed.

When Weiss stayed silent, Blake sighed, finally enjoying the silence. She heard the noise of the map being folded, and felt when Weiss put it back in Blake’s bag. They could enjoy the warmth of the sun, the sound of the birds chirping, the noise of their boots, crunching sometimes when they walked on a fallen leaf. Blake enjoyed it as it grew longer and longer… until she heard an annoyed sighs behind her.

“Do you see something, up ahead? Anything?”

Blake stopped dead in her track, and the two other women stopped along. As Weiss opened her mouth to speak, a small scowl forming on her face, Blake looked at Yang, the blonde understanding instantly.

_Do something or I’m throttling her_

“Weiss” Yang called before the smaller woman could speak. “Why don’t you go up ahead, do a little scouting? You’ll be the first to see the town that way”

Blue eyes narrowed for a few seconds, but she still started walking away, leaving with a little ‘hump!’. They saw her set a glyph under her feet, and she started sliding-gliding at a faster pace, until she was far enough from them, but not too far in case something happened. Blake sighed.

“Thank you” she breathed, resuming her walking. “I’m not sure what I would have done”

Yang smiled, walking alongside her.

“It’s alright. I kinda understand her” she smiled, her eyes trailing up the road to where Weiss was gone. “Ruby missed her, too.”

“It’s not that I’m not happy to see Ruby, but… can’t she just… hold it in?”

Yang laughed, resting a hand on her partner’s arm.

“Since when is she silent about something?” the blonde asked, whipping a tear from her eye.

Blake nodded, patting the hand on her arm.

“Good point.”

 

**** 

 

Yes, she may have been a little… _difficult_ , she thought, rolling her eyes, but she was just so excited to see Ruby again. She wanted her partner back. After the first few days Yang had traveled with them, the partners quickly had found each other again, and seeing them, watching them talk like they used to, act like they used to… Of course, she was happy, she’d feared Yang would be resentful, but, then again, it was _Yang_. Seeing them interact made her miss Ruby even more, and she didn’t have the patience to deal with the travel. She knew she was annoying. Hell, she annoyed herself, but she just wanted to see her partner, for Dust’s sake.

She let out an annoyed huff, knotting her eyebrows together as she kicked a rock on the ground. Now that she was alone, she couldn’t stop thinking about her partner. She hoped she had been fine before Yang found her. She hoped she would be happy to see her. To see them, she corrected herself, thinking about Blake. She hoped Ruby wouldn’t be angry that she left. Then again, it was Ruby, and the sisters shared many traits. She sighed, this time. She should have brought Blake’s map with her. No way she was going back to fetch it, her dignity was bruised enough.

She grunted, looking up ahead of her. At all the trees boarding the road. At all the plants and grass around her. At that post, standing just on the side of the road. At the- wait what? Weiss jogged to the post, her smile growing wider and wider as she got close to it. Yes, that’s it! The town was just ahead! With a large smile, she cast a glyph under her feet, traveling faster the distance. The town’s borders weren’t so far, but with the trees hiding it, she hadn’t seen it. Closing in, she made her glyph go away with a flick of her wrist, walking the rest to enter the town. Being the middle of the day, townsfolk flooded the main area near the exits, merchants and travelers mixed, talking and shouting to be heard over the noises. Ruby was here. Somewhere, she thought, eying the mass of people, until she caught a flash or red in the corner of her eye. Glancing, she saw a red caped woman, walking around the stalls of merchants, eying pieces of metal, turning them between her fingers skeptically, biting down in an apple as red as her cape. But at that moment, Weiss’s breath caught in her throat, and she felt her legs move on their own.

“Ruby!”

She had called her name, thinking that the distance and the noises around them would drown her voice, but the red-head jerked up, and silver eyes staring at her. She straightened her back, her eyes widening, her apple falling from her hand as she walked fast towards Weiss.

They met halfway, Ruby taking Weiss’s hands in hers as she looked at the white-haired woman in front of her in awe, her hands squeezing the smaller ones as if she feared Weiss would disappear.

“You came back” Ruby murmured, astonished that she was really here, in front of her, holding her hands.

Weiss chuckled, feeling light and happy, and she smiled widely, tugging gently on her hands.

“This _does_ mean we’re friends” she chuckled again, squeezing Ruby’s hands in hers.

Ruby made a chocked sound, a mix between a laugh and a sob, and pulled Weiss in her arms, hugging her with all her force, Weiss doing the same. She heard Ruby sniffle gently, feeling her own eyes prickle but she blinked them away, smiling, pulling the other woman away.

“I’m so happy” she said, her voice thin and trembling but she had a huge smile on her lips. “It’s been so long… You’re what, nineteen? Twenty? Let me look at you.”

She took a step back, still holding Ruby’s hands in hers, eying her partner. Ruby had grown since the last time she saw her. She now had a couple of inches on Weiss, not as much as Yang, but still. Her soft, slightly chubby child cheeks were gone, traded with defined cheekbones, her chin more pronounced. Her jaw seemed larger than she remembered, as well as her shoulders, but all in all, she looked good.

“Look at you” Weiss murmured, smiling, her eyes shining. “You’ve grown into a beautiful young woman.”

The youngest blushed slightly, her eyes shying away for a moment, grumbling something that sounded like a really small ‘thank you’ as Weiss laughed softly, tugging on her hand as she walked back out of town.

“I can’t wait for Yang to come back, she’ll be so happy to see you!” Ruby exclaimed, her hand practically glued to Weiss’s.

The smaller woman laughed, and Ruby glanced at her, frowning slightly.

“She found us two weeks ago, in fact” Weiss explained, then grimaced. “I was here first because I couldn’t wait to see you. They’ll probably arrive soon.”

“They?” Ruby asked, raising her eyebrows.

The smaller woman smiled up at her partner, her eyes glinting.

“I’ve been traveling with Blake for two years, until Yang found me”

Ruby stopped in her track, stopping Weiss in the way.

“Wait-wait-wait… Blake was with you? So that means, Blake and Yang saw each other?”

When Weiss nodded silently, her eyebrows furrowed, serious.

“So… How did it go?”

Weiss started walking again, dragging Ruby along without resistance.

“Well, it was… something. Blake told me, had talked to me, and when I met Yang and I brought her back to camp, I knew Blake was terrified. The first days were weird. Tense. But I dare say that they’re fine now.”

The younger woman nodded, thoughtful, as they walked on the road. Far away, two dots of color were coming their way slowly.

 

**** 

 

“Blaaaake!”

As soon as they saw them, Ruby let go of Weiss’s hand, and in a blur of petals, she disappeared. But as she was wrapping her arms around Blake, she felt nothing, and she stopped, dumbstruck, looking at one of Blake’s shadows slowly disappearing in thin air. She glanced to the side, and Blake was there, slightly off the road, a small, uncertain smile on her lips. But when Ruby narrowed her eyes, a large grin splitting her lips, she smiled too.

As Yang was about to ask if her sister was alright, Ruby disappeared again, and Blake left a shadow behind. Weiss and Yang were standing in the middle of the road, while rose petals and shadow figures were racing one another. They were too fast, and both of them couldn’t keep up. It wasn’t until they heard Blake laugh, both Weiss and Yang glancing in that direction, that they saw a finally visible Ruby crash into Blake, not fast enough to use another shadow, both of them rolling in the dirt of the road, Ruby laughing.

“Got ya!” Ruby cheered, standing on her feet as she offered her hand to help Blake to her feet.

“You’re faster than I remember” Blake commented, taking the offered hand and stood, dusting herself.

But before she was finished, Ruby wrapped her arms around the faunus, and after a second of hesitation, she hugged the younger woman back. After a moment, Ruby pulled away, holding the faunus at arm’s length, eying her teammate.

“I really like your outfit” Ruby let out, strangled, smiling up at Blake, her eyes filing with tears.

Blake huffed, shyly pushing a stray red lock behind her ear, her hand falling on her leader’s shoulder.

“I really like yours” she smiled, her ears jerked back as her eyes were watering, too.

Ruby snorted, pulling her in her arms again, then motioned to Weiss and Yang to join them. Weiss slipped under Blake and Ruby’s arms, holding them by the waist, as Yang tried to hug them all, all squished together, laughing and Ruby, crying.

“My team’s back!” she laughed-cried, sniffling, a sob interrupting her. “My team… Came back to me…”

She sniffled again, taking a deep breath, but another sob shook her.

“My friends came back to me…”

And Ruby cried. She wasn’t laughing, anymore. And the rest of her team held her tighter, all of them crying, relief and grief mixing in their tears as they fell to the ground.


End file.
